Gods and Monsters
by Harleyquinnzelz
Summary: 'No gods or kings, only man.' Cordelia Dixon has always been a survivor. She has her older brothers to thank for that. But in a world gone to hell, there is a big difference between living and surviving. (Glenn x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

" _Terror made me cruel…"_

Emily Brontë, _Wuthering Heights_

She was quick and silent, hardly more than a shadow as she darted across the street, swerving to avoid one of the stumbling, undead bastards. She paused only for a moment to sink the blade of her knife deep into it's skull, jerking it out with one swift movement before continuing on her way without looking back again.

Once upon a time, the geek had been a living, breathing woman. She might even have been pretty, when she was still alive, but now she was nothing more than a reeking, dead carcass on the ground. She had died twice now, but luckily she would not have to die again.

The young woman dashed down an alleyway, adjusting the bag she wore on her shoulder as she moved, dark eyes always observing her surroundings. Her hunting knife was held aloft, ready to be used to defend herself, and across her back was a bow and a quiver of arrows. That silent means of taking out geeks from a distance was one of the reasons Glenn allowed her to come trips into the city without too much argument. Using a gun on the streets of Atlanta might as well have been a death sentence now, with the sheer amount of walkers inhabiting the streets of the city and while a knife could be used to take out a small group of walkers up close, taking care of them from farther away was still the safer, preferred method.

Cordelia Dixon turned a corner, tensing as she prepared herself to potentially have to defend herself, but this alley was empty just like the one before it, and Cordy allowed herself to relax slightly. She wasn't worried about the walkers, those she could handle. What she couldn't handle was another goddamned lecture if they made it back to camp late that evening, and with any luck, Glenn would already be waiting for her with a bag full of supplies. The longer they stayed at the quarry, the more frequent their trips into the city were becoming. They needed food and clothes and weapons, and everyone back at camp was depending on Glenn and Cordy to get those things for them. Well, they partially depended on Daryl's hunting abilities. Nobody could ever say that the Dixons didn't pull their own weight. Or, more specifically, that two-thirds of the Dixons didn't pull their own weight. Merle was a notoriously lazy bastard, and if it weren't for his two younger siblings, Cordelia had no doubt that they would have kicked his ass out already.

In the alley ahead of her was an old chain link fence, the sign that Cordy was getting close to the rendezvous point, a mostly empty parking lot that they preferred because it was easy access in and out of the city. With a grin she ducked down, pulling part of the fence away from the frame so she could slip carefully through. The car that she and Glenn had drove into the city that morning was parked at the very end of the alley, around the corner. A quick glance at the sun, descending lazily across the sky, was enough for Cordelia to know that if Glenn was not already waiting on her, she could only hang around for him for about a half hour before she needed to leave. The city was dangerous enough during the day, but at night it would be even worse.

She stepped back out into the open, instinctively looking around for any walkers before starting for the car at a brisk pace. It was an unassuming vehicle, an old gray tahoe that they had acquired on their first trip into the city. Already, she could see Glenn's dark silhouette sitting in the driver's seat, peering anxiously through the windshield. When they had first started making these trips together, Cordy and Glenn had tried sticking together, and to be fair sometimes they still did, but most of the time now, they decided to divide and conquer. Both of them were smart enough and capable enough to survive in the city on their own, after all. She reached the passenger side door and tapped gently on the window to catch his attention, before opening the back door and heaving her bag and bow and quiver inside. A moment later she was settling herself in the front seat, retrieving one of the bottles of water she had stored in the glove box that morning and taking a long swig.

"Am I late?" She asked finally, with a wry grin.

"I was getting ready to leave you here." Glenn said simply.

Cordy rolled her eyes. "No you weren't," she said, matter-of-factly. "You know my brothers would kill you, if you did that. Speaking of, if we aren't back at camp soon, they might kill you anyway. Just to make a point."

"Yeah," Glenn replied dryly. "I know.

He turned the keys in the ignition, allowing the car to hum to life, before putting it in drive, maneuvering onto the street that would lead them out of the city with ease.

It was not a particularly long drive to the quarry, but it was still enough time to relax, and so Cordy reached down to tug off her boots and socks before rolling down her window and leaning her seat back. She propped her feet up on the dash, letting out a content sound as a rush of air swept over her. Georgia was hot as hell, there was no denying that, and it only seemed to be hotter in the city, with heat rising right up off of the asphalt. It certainly smelled worse in the city, that was for sure.

"It's hot as balls." Cordelia announced, reaching up to swipe a hand over her forehead, wiping away the sweat that had collected there. "When we get back to camp, I might just go jump in the water to cool off. You know, assuming they don't have a million and one chores waiting for us when we get back."

"With that sort of attitude, they'll think you're lazy," Glenn grinned as she rolled her eyes, huffing slightly.

" _They_ can kiss my ass."

"That sounds like something Merle or Daryl would say." Her companion pointed out, just as they were leaving the last of the buildings behind.

"Us Dixons are known for our pleasant personalities." She told him matter-of-factly. She liked these trips with Glenn. For one thing, they got her out of camp, which could feel absolutely stifling at times. Besides that, Glenn was nice. She got along with him. She _liked_ him. And it was a nice change of pace, being around someone who she didn't feel like she had to look after. Not that she had to look after Daryl but when they returned, Cordy expected Merle would be passed out in his tent, and it would likely fall on her to make sure he was okay.

" _Oh!"_ Cordelia cried out suddenly, twisting around in her seat to unzip her bag to retrieve the bottle of Jack Daniels she had found. "Look." She announced victoriously. "I've needed a drink for _weeks._ "

"With everyone sharing that, it won't be much of a drink." Glenn pointed out. Cordy rolled her eyes.

"This is mine. As if I'd share it with anyone. Well," She added quickly. "I'll share it with you. They can think of it as a finder's fee."

"Trying to get me drunk, Cordy?" He asked.

"With the world gone to shit, I'd like to be a little drunk, wouldn't you?"

"With the world gone to shit, I'd like to be _a lot_ drunk."

* * *

As usual, when they returned, the inhabitants of of their little camp gathered around to see what they had collected. Cordelia stood by, leaning against the Tahoe, watching as they went through the contents of the bags. She had already hidden the bottle of Jack in the glove box, deciding to wait until later that night to crack it open. She knew better than to open it up now and, more importantly, Merle could not know or else he would likely steal the bottle and drink it all himself.

She reached up, gathering her thick curtain of dark hair and lifting it off the back of her neck, fanning herself with her free hand. It really was hot, and as soon as they were done she was tempted to just shuck off her clothes and go running into the lake.

From across camp, she could see her brothers lurking outside their shared tent, Daryl cleaning his crossbow and Merle smoking a cigarette, taking long drags and blowing smoke rings into the air. Cordy had found a couple of packs of cigarettes for her brothers in the city, but with the rate that Merle went through them, they likely wouldn't last for very long. Merle was not particularly good at rationing.

"Oh, _actual_ cans of soup!" Amy exclaimed excitedly, pulling the cans of chicken noodle that Cordelia had found out and displaying them happily for her sister to see. Amy was eager about...well, mostly everything, even after the world had basically ended. She was so unlike her sister, in that sense, because Andrea was mostly very serious.

"I don't know about y'all, but I'm tired of beans." Cordy drawled. "There's some Slim Jims in there too."

"Daryl mentioned something about going on a hunting trip tomorrow." Dale mentioned offhandedly as he reached into the bag to pull out a box of Irish Spring soap. "Are you going to go with him?" He was an oldest member of their little camp and always wore an ugly ass bucket hat spent most of his time keeping wat

Cordy hesitated, exchanging a look with Glenn. He had mentioned briefly going back into the city the next day to try and scavenge in the downtown area. "Probably not," she said finally. "Supposed to head back into the city tomorrow."

From the corner of her eye, Cordy could see Daryl's head snap up, eyes narrowing slightly in her direction. Her brothers did _not_ like when she went into the city, especially Daryl. Despite the fact that she was clearly not a little girl anymore, those overprotective instincts never went away.

"We're going to try a different part of the city." Glenn explained quickly. "See if we can find anything useful there."

"How's it lookin' in the city?" Shane asked, as he approached, gaze shifting between Cordelia and Glenn. It was Cordy who answered, pushing off from the vehicle to start heading over to her brothers. "About the same as yesterday." She replied. "And the day before that. _And_ the day before that."

She didn't pause to wait for a reaction from any of them, continuing over to the area she and her brothers had claimed as theirs. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a new pack of cigarettes just as she reached them, tossing them into Merle's lap. "Maybe you could try practicing some self control with this pack." She suggested, taking the empty lawn chair and crossing one leg over the other. "You know, instead of smoking them all in one day."

"You're goin' back out again, tomorrow?" Daryl growled, barely sparing her a glance. He didn't need to though, for Cordelia to tell that he was annoyed by the whole thing. She could hear it all in his voice.

"We need supplies." She pointed out, leaning back and stifling a yawn.

"The Chinese kid can go an' get 'em." Daryl pointed out, huffing slightly. Cordelia snorted, shaking her head slightly.

"He ain't Chinese. He's Korean." She corrected.

"Who the hell cares." Merle interjected, making her roll her eyes. "Once again, big brother, you exhibit your mastery of tact." She told him. She was starting to regret ever coming over here at all.

"You should stay. Come hunting with me, tomorrow." Daryl said, ignoring her exchange with Merle.

"Nah. You can hunt just fine on your own. Glenn needs me to cover his ass. Besides, how the hell else am I gonna keep our dear brother supplied with smokes if I don't go get them myself?"

* * *

It was dark when Cordelia finally made her way down to the water, the bottle of Jack in one hand and her bag of toiletries in the other, a towel and fresh clothes thrown over her shoulder. Even with the sun down, it was uncomfortably muggy and Cordy found herself thinking longingly of the clear blue water.

It was their only source of water, but lucky for them there were fish and it was large enough that there were no worries about running out. As she grew nearer to the water, Cordy found herself glancing around, making sure there were no geeks to be seen anywhere.

Her bow was back at the camp, inside her tent, but attached to her belt was her hunting knife, blaringly pink against her otherwise dark apparel. Cordelia could still remember the look on Daryl's face when she had picked it out, pointing at where it lay behind glass, amongst all the other cold, deadly metal. It had stood out then as it stood out now, starkly as if it didn't belong in a world like this. But Cordelia liked pink, it had always been her favorite color, and she had become resigned to the fact that she just had to accept the little joys, like keeping her pink hunting knife, or finding her favorite shampoo and conditioner in the city.

She reached the edge of the water and pulled her shirt off, dropping the dark fabric on the rocks at her feet. Tomorrow, hopefully, they would get lost along with all the other clothes at camp. Cordelia really hated washing clothes. Her boots were kicked off, and a moment later the rest of her clothes joined her shirt. Leaning down, Cordelia spread everything she would need out before stepping into the water. It was an instant relief from the muggy Georgia night, and without hesitation, Cordy stepped into the water the rest of the way, letting out a soft sigh of relief.

First, she would enjoy the cool water and wash off, and then she would enjoy a drink before returning to the responsibility of camp.

" _Cordy!"_ A voice called gently from the darkness, making her whip around to face the way she had come, sinking low into the water so that she was mostly submerged. A dark shape was making it's way down the path, stumbling occasionally and she couldn't help but smile. She didn't need to be able to see him to know that it was Glenn.

"Here to take a bath too, Glenn?" She asked, before tilting her head back to wet her hair.

" _Shit!"_ Glenn had gotten nearer, enough that Cordy could vaguely make out his face in the darkness, and it seemed he had finally caught sight of her before he immediately turned on his heel, facing away. "I didn't know you were-"

"Bathing?" She offered with a small grin, swimming closer so she could grab her bottle of shampoo.

"Naked." He replied.. "Sorry. I just...saw you headed down here and didn't think you should be out here alone."

"So you followed to make sure I was safe? My _hero._ "

"So I followed to make sure you had someone to watch your back." He corrected, making her grin.

"Well since you're here, would you also like to _wash_ my back?" He groaned, making her laugh lightly as she lathered the shampoo into her thick hair, the scent of coconut filling the air around her.

"Lucky you're here. I was going to open that bottle of Jack when I got done. Care to join? In the drinking, not the bathing."

"You came out here to get drunk?" Glenn asked incredulously, making her snort.

"And to get clean. I felt like I had about 5 layers of sweat and grime on me." Tilting her head back, she ran her fingers through her hair, working to get all the shampoo out of it, before straightening up and moving to grab her conditioner, repeating the process. "Give me a minute and I'll finish up, then we can enjoy a nice, stiff drink."

"Do your brothers know you're out here drinking?"

She scoffed. "My brothers don't need to know everything I do, and I don't ask them for permission. I'm a grown ass woman, thank you very much."

Cordelia finished washing quickly before getting out and drying off, getting dressed in the fresh clothes. Without electricity and the convenience of a washing machine, they had to resort to hand-washing everything, but even so, the clothes felt heavenly compared to the last ones.

"You can turn around now." Cordy told him, stooping down to gather her dirty clothes in a bundle, before beginning to towel dry her hair.

He peeked over his shoulder at first, almost hesitantly, before turning to face her. Cordelia straightened up, grabbing the bottle of Jack in one hand and extending it towards Glenn. "I'll give you the first drink." She offered graciously, earning a grin.

"Really?" He asked, reaching forward to accept the bottle, wrapping slim fingers around the neck of it. "You'll do that for me?"

"Us Dixons are known for our giving attitudes." She said with a wink, earning a snort of contempt in response.

Walking over to perch herself on a rather large, flat rock, Cordelia patted the spot next to her which he took immediately, unscrewing the lid and taking a quick swig. He immediately began to cough, making her laugh again.

"Don't have much experience drinkin', huh?" She asked, reaching out to take the bottle from him. She immediately tilted it back, taking a long drink. Glenn's eyes were on her, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth as she _clearly_ showed off the fact that she could handle the strong taste.

"Not much experience with whiskey, no." He agreed, accepting the bottle back once she held it out to him. "I mostly stick to-"

"Beer?" Cordelia asked, earning a nod. She grinned. "Figured. You haven't had much experience with the good stuff. I'll educate you yet, Glenn Rhee."

He didn't respond, eying the bottle in his hand, before tilting it back and taking a much small drink than before. Cordelia watched with an amused expression, brows raised and he swallowed and smacked his lips thoughtfully.

"It's not bad," he consented. "It'll just take some getting used to."

"Next time I'll look for some pretty fruity drink for you, darlin'." She teased, leaning over him to grab to bottle, taking it back. "Just tell me you appreciate me letting you drink with me before I start to feel like it was a complete waste of booze."

"I appreciate it, Cordy." Glenn told her sincerely, as she took a long drink. "I really do."

* * *

Daryl Dixon had only seen his baby sister drunk once, and that had been a disaster of such epic proportions, that Cordy was in no hurry for it to happen again.

In her defense, she had no expected Daryl to react in quite the manner he had. She had, after all, grown up seeing their no good brother drunk off his ass more times than she could count, so why in the hell should Cordelia have expected that she would be any different. As it turned out, she was in a big way and there was no way she could have prepared herself for the way Daryl had reacted.

By that point, she had been sixteen years old, just another no-good Dixon in the small town that they called home. Their dad was dead by then and her mom had run off to God only knew where, leaving Cordelia behind when she had been very small.

She had been out at a party with some friends of hers from school, drinking and smoking pot before sneaking home to their double-wide in the early hours of the morning, creeping in through the front door to find Daryl sitting there, waiting for her in the darkness. She hadn't expected him to care. Boy, had he been wrong.

He didn't yell at her, didn't explode like Merle did. He knew better than to yell, had decided to do better than their good-for-nothing daddy ever did. But it was his quiet disappointment that had stung, the look in his eyes as he examined her before shaking his head. He had told her that she could do better than them, was meant to do better than them, and that she shouldn't be throwing it all away. And then he had turned and walked down the hallway to his room, and Cordelia had bawled like a baby.

It was an experience that had stuck with her, even now, and as she and Glenn staggered drunkenly back up to camp, she had enough good sense to decide that Daryl didn't need to see her drunk now. She leaned heavily against her friend, having drunk far more of the whiskey than was sensible and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"I'm drunk." She said, decisively. "I am definitely drunk."

"So I gotta ask...why the pink knife." Glenn asked suddenly, tapping the belt where it was secured. Cordelia paused, looking down at her knife before smiling slowly.

"Because it's my favorite color." She told him simply. "And because, in a world gone to shit, we gotta enjoy the little things, you know?"

"Yeah…" Glenn blinked blearily before looking around at the mostly silent camp. Her tent was far on the other side and a real gentlemen would help her get there.

"Wanna bunk out in the RV tonight?" Cordelia asked. "It'll be like a slumber party."

"You two alright?" Dale called from the top of the RV where he was keeping watch. He peered down at them curiously, rifle slung across his lap.

" _Shhhh."_ Cordelia held a finger to her lips before falling into a fit of giggles. "We're drunk." She told him.

"Lord, that was real smart of you." Dale commented sarcastically.

"Don't want Daryl to know." Cordelia said, starting towards the RV and dragging Glenn with her. "Can we have a slumber party in the RV?"

"Little old for a slumber party, aren't you?" Dale asked, amusement in his voice. "Do I need to worry about pillow fights?"

" _What?"_ Cordelia asked incredulously. "No. Don't be silly, Dale." She rolled her eyes, huffing slightly, before opening the door to the RV and disappearing inside, Glenn trailing inside after her.

She flopped down in the nearest seat, closing her eyes and pressing her fingers to her temple as the world tilted dangerously around her. Glenn sat across from her, blinking blearily through the darkness before leaning back.

"I'm going to sleep." He announced, Cordelia nodding wordlessly in agreement as she leaned forward, using her arms as a pillow against the table.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, there you have it. I'm attempting a TWD fanfic again and I must say, so far I love Cordelia as a character. You guys should definitely let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'd like to give a big thank you to masqueraderoses, for leaving a review on the first chapter. I definitely appreciated it! Also, I'd like to thank YourpalMoony for being a** _ **huge**_ **help with a certain scene in this chapter.**

 **With that in mind, the last scene of this chapter contains some explicit material. If smut makes you uncomfortable then feel free to skip that scene!**

 **Chapter Two**

" _She would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold."_

Jane Austen _, Pride and Prejudice_

Daryl had always been fiercely protective of his littler sister, even before the world had gone to shit.

He could never trust his father or Merle to step up to take care of her, it had always fallen onto Daryl's shoulders, ever since her mother had shown up on their doorstep so many years prior, Cordelia wrapped up in a heap of blankets in her arms.

Daryl could remember clearly peering past her at the pickup truck piled high with the woman's belonging. She had been off to start a new life, and she had no place for Cordelia. Daryl vaguely recognized her as the woman his father had brought home to screw some months prior, and he could already figure out what kind of person she was to abandon her little girl the way she was.

He had reached forward instinctively to accept the baby, peering down into bright brown eyes, nodding absently when the woman told him that her name was Cordelia.

His father hadn't wanted her and Merle couldn't be bothered with her, so it always fell on Daryl to wake up to feed her in the middle of the night when she started crying and he was the one who changed her diapers and made sure she had new clothes and food to eat and that she went to school every day and did her homework. As far as he was concerned, Cordelia Dixon had always been his responsibility, and that hadn't changed.

As capable as she was of fending for herself, and Daryl knew she was, he would always worry. Especially now, when death seemed to lurk around every corner and Cordy was so insistent of putting herself in harm's way. She was heading into the city at every available opportunity, and Daryl didn't know what he could do or say to get her to stay. She was, after all, an adult and any demands he made of her, she was likely to respond by doing the exact opposite. Not that he was surprised, Cordy was just like both Daryl and Merle in that aspect.

He had returned from his hunting trip, after being gone for three days, to find her returning from yet another trip into the city, splattered with blood but otherwise fine, as far as he could tell. She hadn't even been there to see him off before he left on his hunting trip because she had gone into the city with Glenn.

She was standing proudly outside the shitty SUV that she and the Asian kid had acquired to take runs into the city, watching with a smirk as the other occupants of their camp pulled supplies from the back.

She reached into the bag over her shoulder, pulling out a small stack of books and handing them to the short haired lady named Carol, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the children, who were hovering nearby, watching to see what had been brought into camp.

Cordy turned, sweeping her gaze across the camp until her eyes locked on Daryl and a wide smile split across her face. She was immediately reaching into her bag to pull out something before rushing across the camp towards him.

"You're going to love me." She said in a sing-song voice before presenting him with whatever she had pulled out of her bag. It was a box of _Cheez-its,_ surprisingly untouched. Daryl couldn't help the small smile as he looked up at Cordelia's expectant face. She knew that _Cheez-its_ were his favorite thing to snack on, had always been adamant when she was a little girl and they had gone to get groceries that there be a box in the house at all times because she knew how much he liked them, even if he had never said it out loud.

"Thanks," He said gruffly, scanning her over to make sure she was okay. There was a bit of blood splattered across her neck and face but it didn't look like hers and, besides looking tired, she appeared fine.

He reached forward, tugging her against his side in a rare one-armed hug, before pressing a quick kiss against her temple. Cordelia wrapped an arm around his middle, leaning against him for a moment until Daryl pulled away, uncomfortable with showing so much affection in front of so many people. But Cordelia was the exception. She had always been the exception.

"I'm glad you're okay." He muttered, suddenly aware of eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably.

Cordelia beamed, punching him lightly on the arm. "I'm glad you're okay too." she said. "Get anything on your hunting trip? Glenn and I found a stash of canned vegetables."

"Squirrel." He answered promptly. "Not much of anything else."

Cordy frowned slightly, clearly disappointed. Daryl knew she had been hoping for deer, and he had come across some tracks but had been unable to find it.

"We could make stew." Cordy said finally with a shrug. "That'll make the teeny little squirrels go farther."

"Don't insult these teeny little squirrels." Daryl advised. "You oughta just be happy that there's fresh meat at all."

Cordy rolled her eyes, grinning good-naturedly before turning to saunter back over to the others. Daryl watched her go, a slight smile on his face. It had never been a question on whether or not he loved his siblings, that went without saying. Merle and Cordy were all he had in this world, had always been the only people to really care for him, but where Merle had veered wildly off track as far as healthy life choices went, Cordelia had far more common sense. The fierce love he had for Cordy came easily, felt as natural as breathing. With Merle it was a little harder, took more patience.

As if conjured up by simply thinking his name, Merle emerged from his tent, dressed in a dirty wife-beater and a pair of baggy cargo pants. His eyes were bloodshot, and he stunk of a mix between cigarettes and alcohol. He didn't even know where Merle would have gotten alcohol. Maybe Cordelia, but probably not.

"Baby brother!" He exclaimed, easing over to sling an arm around Daryl's shoulder. He smelled even worse up close.

"Merle." Daryl greeted simply, shifting away slightly.

"Get somethin' for us to eat?"

"Squirrel." Daryl said simply, gesturing to the ones he had hanging over his shoulder. "Gotta skin these furry little bastards."

As Daryl watched, Merle's eyes drifted past him to where Cordy stood, helping everyone sort through the supplies she had brought back. A scowl spread slowly across his face.

"Looks like she's turnin' into quite the little ce-leb-bri-ty." Merle drawled. "Oughta tell her to put some fuckin' clothes on. Don't like her runnin' round in them little shorts. One of these fellas is gonna get the wrong idea. And I think it might end up bein' the Chinese kis."

It was a good thing Cordy hadn't heard any of what Merle had just said, Daryl decided, because she likely would have lashed out out him like a viper, her words venomous. She didn't like being told what to do, least of all by Merle.

Regardless, Daryl couldn't bring himself to agree with Merle. Cordelia wasn't the type to wear shorts just to attract attention. She wore them in an effort to stave off the heat in the hot-as-balls Georgia sun.

And as far as that kid, Glenn, went...he seemed nice enough, though nowhere near good enough for his sister. Daryl suspected he would be too scared anyway, to attempt anything with her, the threat of making Daryl and Merle angry hanging heavy in the air. And Daryl was content in that knowledge, confident that he and Merle were intimidating enough that the kid wouldn't think twice about trying to screw his baby sister.

"Shut up, Merle." Daryl muttered, turning away. "She's fine."

* * *

Cordelia Dixon was dead sexy and Glenn was trying really hard not to notice. It wasn't the first time he had thought such a thing about the young woman, it was impossible not to, but on this particular day it seemed she was trying her damndest to distract him from their current mundane chore.

She sat across from her, dark hair tied into a messy knot atop her head, a pair of pink heart-shaped aviators perched on the bridge of her nose, shielding her eyes from the sun. She had found them earlier that day, she had told him gleefully on the ride back to camp, peering at herself in the mirror and making faces at herself. He had thought she was just acting silly then, but now he had to admit they looked good on her. She had her legs stretched out lazily in front of her, long and bare, with her boots and socks kicked off. Her legs were distracting enough on their own, Glenn thought, but paired with that shirt and the way one sleeve had fallen to reveal her shoulder and he was convinced Cordelia Dixon was looking to give him a heart attack.

What was more was the fact that Glenn was fairly certain that Cordy _knew_ that he was trying really hard not to look at her like that. There had been times when his gaze had settled on her for just a fraction too long before he caught himself and looked away, and during those times, Cordelia's mouth had curled into a knowing smile.

The simple fact of the matter was that Cordelia Dixon was gorgeous, and she damn well knew it.

"Three boxes of crackers." Glenn told her, setting the boxes of saltines off to the side, in a neat stack. "Two jars of peanut butter."

Cordelia wrote quickly before pausing. "Is it creamy?" She asked.

"What? Why does that matter?" Glenn asked with a light laugh at the serious tone of her question.

"It's important to the integrity of the peanut butter." She told him. "Is it creamy or not?"

"Yeah," Glenn said, holding up one of the jars to show her. "It's creamy."

"Hot damn." Cordy grinned, leaning back in her lawn chair and writing it down. "Peanut butter and crackers. It would almost be like a sandwich."

"Pretty sad sandwich." He commented.

She huffed lightly. "Sorry. Do you have a bunch of actual sandwiches to compare my peanut butter and cracker sandwiches to? Where are you getting the bread, Glenn? You've been holding out on us. Should I add bread to the inventory list?"

He laughed at that, rolling his eyes before setting the peanut butter aside. They had taken to keeping an inventory of what they had so that, each time they went back to the city, they had an idea of what to look for.

"You know," Cordy said suddenly, tone thoughtful. "There are those apartments down the street from the grocery store we hit today. We could check them out tomorrow. The fire escape should give us pretty good access."

"But we might also end up pissing off any tenants who are hanging around." Glenn pointed out. "Dead or otherwise."

Cordy shrugged slightly. "Was just a suggestion. Most of the grocery stores are pretty well cleared out now."

Glenn paused for a moment, watching Cordelia curiously. She went back to writing, absently blowing a stray strand of dark hair out of her face. She always seemed to be ready to rush into the city, away from the relative safety of camp. And Glenn had a feeling he knew why.

He allowed his gaze to drift over to the spot where the Dixons had their tents set up. Daryl was sitting in one of the lawn chairs, cleaning the squirrels he had returned with after his hunting trip. Merle sat in the seat next to him, taking a lazy drag of a cigarette.

It was the common consensus around camp that nobody really liked Merle Dixon. He was lazy and ill-tempered. The only good things about Merle Dixon came in the form of his siblings. Daryl and Cordelia were an asset to camp, and they more than made up for having to deal with Merle, even if Daryl himself were less than friendly.

Still, while everyone at camp had to deal with Merle in doses, Daryl and Cordelia had been forced to endure him their whole lives. Glenn didn't know much about what the familial situation was when Cordy had been growing up, but he knew that Merle had helped raise her. That certainly couldn't have been easy. And Glenn imagined, if he was Cordy, that he'd want to get away from Merle as often as he possibly could too. Even if it meant braving the dangers of the city.

"We can try it." Glenn said suddenly, making Cordelia look up at him in surprise. "But we stick together for this. And we have to _be careful._ "

* * *

She woke up the next day just as the sun started its ascent in the sky. From across the tent, Merle snored noisily, a sound she had long ago grown used to. Daryl was nowhere to be seen, and his sleeping bag lay empty. Not that Cordy was surprised. Her brother was a notoriously early riser. They had that in common.

She slid out of her sleeping bag, stretching and yawning, before pulling a fresh set of clothes from one of her bags. She changed quickly, making sure her hunting knife was attached to her hip and pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. She laced up her boots before grabbing her empty messenger bag and her bow and arrows and slipping out of the tent.

Outside, the inhabitants of their little camp were slowly but surely waking up. Dale was already seated atop the RV, shotgun slung across his lap. Lori Grimes, Carol Peletier, and Miranda Morales were seated by the fire, preparing something for breakfast. Shane Walsh was just emerging from his own tent, pushing his fingers through his hair before looking around, his gaze briefly meeting Cordelia's. He gave her a quick nod of greeting before turning to walk over to the women by the fire.

All around camp were stirring of life and yet, among them Cordelia could not find the two men she was looking for. Where were Daryl and Glenn? She and Glenn were supposed to leave early to head back into the city, but her friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Dale!" She called, catching the older man's attention. He turned to look down at her, raising a brow questioningly. "Have you seen Daryl or Glenn?"

Dale nodded, tilting his head in the direction of the lake. "They both went that way." He said. "Daryl followed Glenn down there about five minutes ago."

His words made Cordy frown, furrowing her brow slightly. Why in the world would Daryl follow Glenn down to the water? The reason likely wasn't a very good one and so, with a quick ''thanks' in Dale's direction, Cordelia hurried on her way, slinging her bow across her shoulder as she went.

It was still very early, the air comfortably warm and birdsong echoing through the trees. The area where they made camp really was beautiful, the kind of place that Cordelia and Daryl would have chosen for a casual camping trip, once upon a time. Now it was their home in what Cordelia could only assume was the actual end of the world. At least, it was the end of the world as they knew it.

She stepped down onto the rocky path leading down towards the water, gaze immediately settling on the two figures she saw there.

"-make sure she doesn't get herself killed." Daryl was saying as she approached, not yet aware of her presence as she walked as quietly as she could. "If she gets hurt you'll-"

"He'll _what,_ Dare?" She asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously, stopping where she stood, placing her hands on her hips. She hoped she looked imposing, standing over them, elevated on a rock, a glare on her face and venom dripping from her voice.

Daryl cast her a look, scowling slightly, clearly upset that he had been caught threatening Glenn who looked terrified. "Nothin'"

"You're damn right nothing!" Cordelia practically snarled, the anger burning like a fire in her chest. "I don't need you making him feel like I need a goddamn baby sitter. I can take care of myself!"

Daryl, who was used to her anger, appeared unphased, but Glenn shrunk back slightly, watching her with wide eyes. Her dark gaze was set on her brother, eyes glittering dangerously. Her lips had tightened into a thin line. She hated it when her brother got overprotective. It made her feel as if she couldn't be trusted to care for herself. She wasn't really surprised that she had caught him doing this though, threatening Glenn. When she had announced to her brothers the previous night that she would be heading back into the city the following morning with Glenn, Daryl had been furious.

She stared at him for a moment longer before turning away. "Come on Glenn. We need to head out." She called lightly over her shoulder. All the bite was gone from her words now, her tone much softer.

Glenn started after her, taking care to avoid the gaze of her older brother.

* * *

The first few apartments they tried proved to be fairly empty as far as any scavengable supplies went. It wasn't until the sixth one they searched that they got lucky.

After having tapped lightly on the window they waited for a moment to see if the noise drew any potential Walkers residing in the apartment. None came, and so finally, Cordelia reached for the hammer she had slid through one of her belt loops and hit it sharply against the window.

The sound of shattering glass made the both of them freeze, casting each other a worried look as they had with each previous apartment. They waited for a few moments with bated breath, waiting for something awful to happen. In theory, they would be fine. If there was no walker _inside_ the apartment and there was no way for a walker to climb up after them then there was nothing to worry about. Still, they were still alive because they were careful. They had to be nowadays.

When nothing Cordy sighed in relief before reaching carefully through the hole she had made to unlock the window, sliding it open a moment later. She slipped inside first, Glenn following a moment later.

The inside of the apartment was dark and tastefully decorated. It had once been owned by a young married couple if the wedding picture on the wall was anything to go by. Glenn watched as Cordy hesitated for a moment, eyes set on the picture.

"They got married only a few months before shit hit the fan." She observed, reading the date that was engraved on the picture frame. She turned, dark eyes taking in the room. "Poor bastards."

"The happily married couple _might_ still be hanging around. Let's hurry up." Glenn pointed out.

Cordelia rolled her eyes before turning and walking into the next room, leaving Glenn to trail after her.

She had been in a mood all morning, though Glenn knew it wasn't directed at him. She was upset with her brother, angrier than Glenn had ever seen her. But he hadn't missed the expression of hurt that had flashed across her face earlier that morning, during her confrontation with Daryl. It had quickly been masked with cold, hard anger, but that moment of hurt was the most vulnerable that Glenn had ever seen Cordy.

He had been giving her her space all morning, not pushing her to talk about the subject with him because she clearly didn't want to. Besides, much like her older brother, Cordelia wasn't the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. If something was bothering her, she would keep it to herself.

The kitchen, much like the room prior, was nicely decorated. Cordelia immediately began to open cabinets and drawers, peering inside them, while Glenn walked past her to pull the pantry open. There was still an assortment of food to be found inside, and though the smell of rotting potatoes reached his nose, making him gag slightly, he stepped in, pulling his flashlight out and shining it around.

Most of the items were canned goods, and there was an half empty case of water at his feet. He began to sort through the items on the shelves, putting various items in his bag.

"Find anything?" Cordelia asked, making him jump slightly as she stepped up beside him, her arm brushing against his.

"Oh, uh…" He turned, holding up the can of pears he had found, laughing slightly when her lip curled up in disgust.

" _Ick."_

"Don't like pears?" Glenn asked as she reached past him to grab another can off the shelf, examining it for a moment.

"Not at all." She said. "Now this is what I'm talkin' about. At least these people weren't completely tasteless. Cherry pie filling." She held the can up victoriously so he could see. "These things are fuckin' delicious." With that she dropped it into her bag.

"Did _you_ find anything?" He asked her, gesturing over to the drawers.

"A can opener." Cordy responded. "Which is good because we need another one. Also some silverware and some dishtowels. I was about to check in the rest of the apartment." With that she turned away, starting towards the doorway of the kitchen.

" _No!"_ Glenn cried quickly, making her pause, turning to look at him with one brow raised. "I just….uh...think we should stick together is all. To be safe."

The look on her face was enough to tell Glenn that that was the absolute last thing that Cordelia wanted to hear. Her eyes narrowed, lips tightening into a thin line.

"Does this have anything at all to do with what Daryl said back at the Quarry?" She asked.

"No." He told her immediately, shifting uncomfortably where he stood. And really, it didn't. Though Daryl was quite intimidating, Glenn was just nervous being in this building in the first place, and the last thing he wanted was for one of them to get into trouble without the other one there to back them up. "It doesn't have anything to do with Daryl."

"So...what? Do you not think I can take care of myself? We don't usually stay together in the city anyway, Glenn."

"It's not that either." He insisted, but it was too late. He had clearly made her mad and there was no going back now, if the expression of anger on her face was anything to go by.

"I can take care of myself Glenn. I don't need you trying to protect me or whatever. Worry about yourself."

And with that she whipped around, striding out of the kitchen purposefully.

Glenn sighed. He knew Cordelia could be stubborn, and ridiculously proud. She was clearly offended, though that hadn't been his intention at all. He just wanted both of them to stay safe. They were both treading into new territory, scavenging from a building like this, and there was no telling just how many walkers could be inside, locked away in a room, just waiting for some poor, unsuspecting bastard to open the door. They were better off together. But after the argument she had had with her brother earlier that morning, Cordy clearly wasn't ready to listen to reason.

Part of him wanted to go after her, wanted to try and calm her down. The other part of him, however, was convinced that doing so would only upset her more and so, after standing there for a moment indecisively, he finally turned back to the pantry and began to place more cans inside.

It was getting late, he knew, and they would need to head back to camp very soon or risk being stuck in the city all night, the streets far too dangerous to attempt to navigate in the darkness. They needed to hurry and get all that they could carry.

The sound of the door to the apartment opening made him freeze, and a moment later he heard a gasp and the sound of something shattering that had him running out of the kitchen in time to see Cordelia go crashing to the ground, a rather large walker bearing down on top of her.

" _Fuck!"_ Cordelia cursed, using one hand to push the walker's face away from her, the other holding herself up. She had shattered a vase, he realized distantly, could see her blood smeared on the wood floors from where she had landed on the shards.

He pulled out his knife, rushing forward as the walker snapped his jaws closed, growing ever closer to Cordelia's face. A moment later he brought the knife slashing down, the blade sinking easily into the geeks skull.

It slumped forward, it's weight crushing Cordelia beneath it and she let out a noise of disgust as she attempted to push him off, wincing slightly from the pain in her hand.

"Here." Glenn said quickly, reaching down to help. He rolled the walker off of her, allowing Cordy to get to her feet, clutching her still bleeding hand to her chest. She looked from the now dead walker to Glenn, her brow eyes wide and almost vulnerable. "Did it bite you?" Glenn asked gently.

"Shit," Cordelia breathed. "No...I uh...I'm fine."

"Let's drag him out into the hall." Glenn offered. "This bastard stinks."

Cordelia nodded after a moment and reached down with her good hand to seize the walker under the arm and together, the two of them worked to drag him back out the front door before stepping back into the apartment and closing the door behind them. After a moment of hesitation, Glenn put the chain lock in place.

"Why were you going out there?" Glenn asked finally, turning to face her.

"I wanted to see if any of the doors were unlocked." She responded, avoiding his gaze. "I thought maybe there might be some door keys hidden under welcome mats or something. I checked the peephole and didn't see any walker."

Glenn suspected that the real reason was out of sheer, stubborn pride but he knew better than to say anything.

"You shouldn't have gone out there." He told her carefully, before reaching out to grab her bleeding hand gently. He examined it, Cordelia avoiding his gaze the whole time.

"I know." She said softly, her cheeks tinged red.

She was embarrassed, Glenn realized with a start. Embarrassed that she had needed help and likely realizing that she shouldn't have tried to go off by herself like that.

"Let's see if there's a first aid kit." He said finally, choosing to change the subject. Pressing it anymore and trying to enforce the idea that she had been wrong would likely only upset her further.

He led the way down the hallway to the bathroom, Cordelia following slowly behind. She was being uncharacteristically quiet, dark eyes set on him with an unreadable expression. He stepped into the bathroom, searching through the cabinet for a moment before finding what he had been searching for.

"Let's go somewhere with a window, so we have some light." He said, gesturing to the nearest open door frame, the final rays of sunlight still illuminating it slightly. She nodded slightly, stepping inside what was obviously the bedroom and taking a seat at the foot of the large bed, still clutching her hand to her chest.

Glenn took a seat beside her, reaching out to take her hand gently.

"It's okay," He said finally, examining the cuts on her hand. There were no shards of the vase caught in the wounds, it seemed, which he was glad for, and so he got one of the antiseptic wipes, tearing it open. The cuts were only slightly oozing blood now and he didn't think they would need stitches. Which was good, really, because Glenn didn't even know how to stitch up clothes, let alone a person.

"It's not," Cordy said quietly. "I was an idiot."

"Yeah," Glenn agreed, making her look up at him with a huff, pursing her lips slightly. She obviously hadn't expected him to agree. "But I had your back."

"But if you hadn't-"

"But I did." He interrupted, swiping the antiseptic wipe across her hand, making her suck in a sharp breath. "That's what matters. And in the future, you'll be more careful."

She didn't respond, looking down to watch as he cleaned the cuts before wrapping her hand with the gauze that was in the first aid kit. He tied the whole thing off before looking up at her with a small smile. "There." He said.

"Thanks," She said softly. She looked past him, at the window, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. "It's almost dark." She said.

He turned to look, eyes widening a fraction. "Shit!" He cursed. It was later than he had though, Glenn realized with a start.

"Radio them." Cordelia suggested. "We can stay here for the night. Head back in the morning."

"I don't think-"

"We don't have much choice." She pointed out. "We're losing light fast. Do _you_ want to be out on those streets in the dark."

He sighed heavily. "No," He agreed, reaching for the walkie talkie that was hooked to his belt. "I don't."

* * *

They spent the next hour searching the apartment for any other supplies, spreading their findings out across bed in the master bedroom. Both of them were avoiding the living room as best they could. Mostly because it still smelled like the rotting flesh of the walker, but Glenn suspected that Cordelia was still feeling embarrassed over the whole thing.

Eventually they ended up with a pile of neatly stacked clothes from the drawers and closet, as well as the silverware and food from the kitchen. In addition, there was the first aid kit from the bathroom and a small sewing kit. It seemed that the previous owners were fans of vanilla scented candles, because Cordelia found a small stash of them and ended up lighting them around the room to illuminate the darkened space.

"Oh!" Cordelia cried out suddenly, setting a box down from the nightstand onto the bed. "And these."

Glenn picked up the box, examining it for a moment, before turning to her, furrowing his brow. "Condoms?"

"Better safe than sorry." She replied with a shrug before grabbing a fork and the can of cherry pie filling she had found earlier. "Someone will end up using them. Probably Lori and Shane."

"Wait...are they…?" Glenn's eyes widened slightly as he looked at her in surprise.

"Uh...yeah. Haven't you noticed them sneaking off and giving each other bedroom eyes that they think nobody else notices."

"I just didn't think...I mean, she did _just_ lose her husband." he replied.

Cordy shrugged slightly, opening the can and leaning back against the pillows. "And the world did _just_ end." She pointed out. "Things like that happen faster, now. They have to." With that, she brought a forkful of cherry to her mouth.

"I guess…"

"There's no guessing. We might die tomorrow. We have to take what we've got _now._ Otherwise we might not have the opportunity." Cordelia said sagely.

They fell into a silence after that, Glenn getting his own can of pineapple to eat for a rather meager dinner. He wasn't sure when Cordelia got so profound, but what she said made sense. She was certainly smarter than many of the members of camp gave her credit for. Of course, Glenn had known that for a while.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her take another bite of cherries, her tongue darting out to swipe across her mouth to catch any of the excess red glaze. She was smart and gorgeous and stubborn and absolutely infuriating. He had known she was those things from the first moment he had met her.

"Want some?" She asked suddenly, extending her fork towards him, lips curled up slightly in a knowing smile. The worst part of her being those things was the fact that she was perfectly aware of them, was content in the that she was an absolute pistol of a woman.

"Uhh…"

She didn't give him much of a chance to respond, pressing the fork against his lips until he had little choice but the eat them.

"They're good, aren't they?" Cordy asked, drawing her fork back, eyes alight with something mischievous.

"They're uh...really sweet." He replied.

She grinned. "They're meant to be." And with that she took another big bite of the cherries.

Something in the air around them had changed, Glenn realized with a start. The air felt thicker, charged with electricity. He wondered if she could feel it too.

"Glenn," she said suddenly, voice soft and silky. "Things don't just have to happen quickly between Lori and Shane."

 _Oh yeah. She definitely felt it too._

"What do you mean?" He couldn't help but eyes, eye set on her.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, setting the can of cherries aside before reaching forward to grab his can of pineapple and setting those aside as well. And then, with a small smile she leaned forward, placing one hand on his knee, making him tense.

She really was quite lovely, doe-eyed and dark-haired, looking at him expectantly like she was. The light from the candles flickered, sending dancing shadows across her face.

"Do you think I'm pretty, Glenn?" She asked.

Pretty didn't seem like a good enough word. She was vivacious, a breath of fresh air in a world that had otherwise gone to shit.

"Yes…" He answered anyway, his tone nervous, his mouth feeling very dry all of a sudden.

"And do you like me?" She tilted her head, smiling coyly at him.

"I do." His heart was thudding a mile a minute in his chest now.

"Do you want to kiss me?" Cordelia shifted slightly, moving closer to him, the room growing warmer by the second.

Glenn nodded slowly, making Cordelia's smile widen.

"Then kiss me." She whispered.

So he did, leaning forward to press his mouth gently, sweetly against hers. He pulled away a moment later, watching as her eyes fluttered open. They looked at each other for just a moment, his face tinted red, her brown eyes darker than usual, before she leaned forward suddenly, crashing her mouth against his. Glenn pressed his hand against her cheek, mouth moving against hers, heart pounding in his chest. She tasted sweet, like the cherries she had been eating, and he couldn't help but think how fucking appropriate that was. Cordy reached up, pushing his ballcap off of his head, raking a hand through his hair.

This time, when they pulled away, it was because they both desperately needed air. Glenn stared at her, panting slightly. Her lips were red and kiss-swollen, her cheeks now tinged with pink. Without taking her eyes off of him, Cordy stood, toeing off her boots and socks before unbuttoning her shorts and sliding them down her long legs.

"Wait," Glenn said breathlessly, standing up as well. If Cordelia was going to get naked for _him_ then damnit he wanted to help in getting her clothes off. He gripped the hem of her shirt with shaking hands and pulled. He had expected it to slide off effortlessly, in an entirely sexy manner but instead it got stuck beneath her chin, making Glenn blush heavily while she giggled, reaching up to tug it off the rest of the way, leaving her only in her underwear, a purple bra and a pair of pale pink panties.

She was very pale, and ribbon thin, and more breathtaking than Glenn could ever have imagined. This was really happening. When they had left camp this morning, he had never expected their day to take this kind of turn.

Reaching forward, Cordelia tugged on his shirt, pulling it over his head and dropping it to the floor next to them. She brushed her hands down his chest and stomach before allowing them to settle on the waistband of the pants that were growing uncomfortable with each passing second.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked locking eyes with her. She smiled coyly, pushing her hands down to brush against him through his pants and boxers.

"Yeah," she responded. "I'm sure."

 _Thank God,_ he thought. Because he had been half expecting her to change her mind. But there was something so soft and sincere about her words that he couldn't help but wonder why he had thought she would in the first place. This was Cordelia Dixon. She didn't do anything unless she was absolutely certain first.

She popped the button of his jeans before dropping to her knees, and dragging them down along with her, eyes trained on his face, making his heart jolt in his chest. Without much warning she tugged his boxers down, allowing his hardened member to spring up.

She had just leaned forward towards it, when he stopped her, pushing a hand gently through her hair. "Cordy," he said gently. "As much as I want you to, and _believe me,_ I do, if you do then this is going to be over way too quick. And I really don't want that to happen."

She paused for a moment, expression thoughtful as if she were considering his words, before smiling devilishly and standing up. "Fine," she practically purred. "Then you can do me." With that she stepped past him, pushing the supplies they gathered off the bed, before spreading herself across it, locking eyes with him as she slid her underwear down her legs.

He swallowed, unable to do anything but stare for a moment as he took in her words. He could do her? Hell yes he could do her. He'd be happy to do so.

Glenn moved forward, dropping to his knees to crouch at the end of the bed and reaching forward to grip her under her knees, pulling her towards him gently, her skin very soft beneath his fingers.

"I'm not going to break." Cordelia protested, propping herself up on her elbows to peer down at him. "You don't have to be so careful."

He didn't say anything, instead choosing to lean forward to press a soft kiss on her inner thigh, suddenly feeling even more nervous. What if he did something wrong? Something Cordelia didn't like. What if-

She pressed a hand to the back of his head suddenly, pushing his face forward into her wetness impatiently, obviously not nearly as worried as he was feeling. Glenn couldn't help but feel incredibly turned on by the action.

Distantly, part of him wondered if this was a good idea. The world had basically ended around them and she could be terrifying on her own, never mind the fact that every day was a fight for survival. But then he darted his tongue out, licking lightly up her folds and she mewled lightly, fingers tightening in his hair, and any doubts Glenn had flew out the window. This was Cordy spreading herself out before him invitingly, and he had had a crush on her since they had first met.

He slid his hands slowly, lightly up her thighs, licking slowly, drawing another moan from her.

" _Glenn,"_ She rasped, eyes blazing and set on his face. "I don't like being teased."

He grinned, and got to work, sucking lightly on her clit as he pressed a finger against her, sliding it slowly in. She was very wet and warm, and he couldn't help but shudder in excitement.

Cordy whimpered lightly, her thighs quivering on either side of his head. He added another finger, moving them in and out faster and she rocked her hips, grinding against him shamelessly.

" _Glenn,"_ Cordy moaned breathlessly.

He hadn't thought it possible to get more turned on, but the sound of Cordy moaning his name shot a whole new fire through him. He thought that, maybe, she was the sexiest woman left alive. He was incredibly lucky to be with her, like this, and Glenn had no intention of making her regret any of it.

"Come here," she said suddenly, tugging on his hair lightly, making him groan. "And grab one of those condoms. I don't want to wait anymore." Her tone spoke of desperation and Glenn wasted no time kicking of his shoes, and stepping out of the pants and boxers that were still pooled around his ankles. It took a second to locate the box of condoms amongst the mess on the floor and another few seconds to tear one of the packages open and spread it along his length. Finally he was able to crawl across the bed towards her, just as she started to scoot back to lay amongst the pillows.

Glenn settled between her legs, holding himself up and peering down at her for a moment, heart thundering in his chest, his nervousness back now. But before he could think about it too much, Cordy reached down, gripping his member and guiding it to her entrance.

He pushed inside slowly, watching her face as he did so, watching as her eyes fluttered closed and as she bit her lower lip, trying to stifle another moan.

She was so fucking _tight,_ and for a split second Glenn thought he was going to burst and ruin the whole thing. It had been a long goddamn time after all, and besides that, as he moved inside her for the first time, he couldn't remember sex ever feeling quite this good.

"Cordy," He groaned softly. "You're really fucking gorgeous."

She opened her eyes, looking up at him and smiling softly. "You're not so bad yourself, Glenn." She said breathily, before pulling his mouth down to meet hers in a searing kiss.

He thrusted into her quicker, harder, making her moan into his mouth, her fingers tightening on his shoulders tight enough that he was sure they were going to leave marks.

" _Fuck,"_ she whimpered when they finally pulled away, biting her lower lip. "Don't stop, okay. I'm getting close."

 _Oh thank God,_ he thought, because so was he but Glenn refused to come until Cordy had. Eyes set on her face, he leaned down, mouth latching around a nipple. He sucked gently, earning a low whine of pleasure as she began to move her hips along with his, chasing after her high.

"So close." She whispered. "So fucking close."

And so was he, and there was no way in hell he would be able to hold on for much longer. Snaking a hand between them, his fingers found her clit, and he began to rub it in circles, drawing a louder moan from her this time.

And then, suddenly, Cordy was coming, her walls tightening around him as she threw her head back against the pillows, crying out his name. He was only a second behind her, spilling into the condom as he thrusted through both of their orgasms. Finally he stilled, pulling slowly out of her and panting, sweat clinging to his brow.

He collapsed next to her and a moment later she scooted closer, resting her head against his chest.

"That was nice." She said quietly. "This is nice too."

"Yeah," Glenn agreed. He slid his fingers up her back, before sliding them into her hair, playing idly with the strands. In the morning, it would be right back into the hell of Atlanta as they worked their way back to the car so they could return to camp, but it was like this had become their own little haven. Tomorrow, they would be back to fighting for survival, but for now Glenn was happy to cling to this.

"I like you too, Glenn. In case that wasn't clear." Cordy added, leaning up slightly so that she could look at him. "And I'm definitely thinking we should keep that box of condoms for ourselves."

He blinked, looking down at her in surprise. "Is that your way of saying you wanna do this again sometime?" He asked her with a grin. She didn't answer. Instead, she smiled and leaned forward to press her lips against his softly.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, so uh...let me know what you think. Cordelia and Glenn kind of took on a mind of their own in this chapter and they certainly progressed much faster than I had originally planned. I know this chapter took forever but I'm hoping the length will hopefully make up for it.**

 **As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter. They really do help in getting chapters out quicker. Also I'm like...really nervous about this chapter so if you could let me know what you think that would be great!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

" _It was the best of times; It was the worst of times."_

It was not the first time Glenn had woken up like this in the recent days, with Cordy curled against him, face tucked in the curve of his neck.

She had taken to slipping into his tent in the dead of the night, well after her brothers had fallen asleep. Sometimes they would have sex, but sometimes they would just lay there talking until they fell asleep. She would always leave early in the morning before the rest of camp had risen from the comfort of sleep. It wasn't that she was hiding it, she had whispered to him one night, but she didn't want her brothers to try and ruin it. They would find out, inevitably, Cordy had said, but she wanted to enjoy _this,_ whatever it was, for as long as she could.

He trailed his fingers through her thick hair, listening to the steady pace of her breathing. He didn't always wake up before her, but it was nice when he did. He liked the peacefulness of the whole thing, liked to imagine that things were normal and they were maybe sleeping in a bed in his old apartment, and the world was not a veritable shitstorm around them.

But everything had to end eventually, and after a far too short amount of time of just laying there enjoying the moment, Cordy shifted, raising her head to peer at him through sleep-heavy eyes.

"Mornin'" She yawned, reaching a hand up to rub her eyes.

"Morning." He replied.

She smiled slowly before rolling away and sitting up, yawning again. As she sat up, the blanket slid down, revealing an expanse of bare skin. Part of Glenn wanted to reach out and tug her back but he knew better. When Cordy was up, she was up and there would be no lazing around. Besides, that would involve too much expression of vulnerable emotion. Cordy didn't like that, and Glenn feared she would throw it back in his face. Better to just leave her be.

"No supply run today." Cordy reminded him as she moved to get dressed, shameless as always. "I guess they'll try to rope me into…washing clothes or something."

"What if they do?" Glenn asked, watching as she pulled her shirt on.

"I'll throw their dirty underwear in their face." She responded without missing a beat, shooting him a devilish grin.

Glenn couldn't help but snort slightly, rolling his eyes as she finished getting ready, lacing her boots up before pulling her hair into a messy bun and slinging her bow and quiver full of arrows over her shoulder.

"I'll see you later." She offered, before leaning close, pressing her lips softly against his.

It was Glenn who deepened it, pressing his hand against her cheek as his mouth worked against hers until he had half the mind the pull her back down with him and never leave the tent.

She pulled away and giggled, a sound that sent a jolt of heat through him.

"Easy there, Darlin'. We'll have time for that later." She said with a coy smile and a wink. Then she was unzipping the tent and slipping out without another word, leaving Glenn to fall back against his pillow with a groan.

Cordy stepped out into the morning sun, zipping the tent shut behind her before turning to face her surroundings. As always, she was the first one up, besides Dale, who sat atop the RV, looking down at her with a knowing smile.

"Sleep well?" He called down softly.

A lesser person might have blushed or acted embarrassed, but not Cordelia. She lifted her chin and smirked. "Didn't get much sleep." she shot back, making the older man laugh.

Casting another look around the otherwise quiet camp, Cordy started over to the RV, climbing up to take a seat beside Dale.

"Must get a bit boring up here," Cordelia commented. "So early in the morning with nobody else awake."

"It's peaceful." Dale corrected. "When everybody gets up, things can get a little hectic. I like the quiet."

"Don't get much of that anymore, do we?" She asked, turning her gaze in the direction of the tent she shared with her brothers. There was no sign of movement, though Cordelia suspected they would be up soon. Merle had never gotten over the habit from his short stint with the military and, like her, Daryl was a notoriously early riser.

"I imagine you didn't get much of that before, either. With Merle as a brother."

Cordelia smirked slightly, turning to look at Dale. "You mean loud and obnoxious Merle? The same Merle who has to make a big fucking deal about everything. That Merle?"

"Yeah," Dale said with a laugh. "That Merle."

"Well, you'd be right. Daryl and I didn't get much quiet." She paused for a moment, expression thoughtful. "Unless we were in the woods. Daryl and I spent a whole lot of time in the woods."

"You are Daryl are pretty close?" Dale asked curiously.

"He raised me," Cordy explained. "Or might as well have. You see how Merle is. Our daddy was worse." When she had woken up she hadn't quite expected to have this conversation. Not that there was an issue with having it really. Cordelia had made her peace with the kind of man her father was a long time ago.

"And your mother?"

Cordelia frowned. "She left me." She said simply. Movement from the corner of her eye had Cordelia turning to see Daryl stepping out from the tent. He turned, gaze sweeping over the camp until he caught sight of her, raising her hand in a simple wave.

Daryl jerked his head in the direction of the woods, gesturing for her to follow as he turned to head into the woods, crossbow in hand.

"Well," Cordelia said, standing up. "I've been summoned. I'll see you later, Dale." She climbed down from the RV before hurrying off after Daryl. He often disappeared into the woods though, admittedly, Cordelia spent so much time going on runs into the city that she rarely got to join him.

"Mornin'." She greeted as she walked up beside him.

He didn't look at her, keeping his gaze set on the forest.

"You snuck into his tent again last night." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, but all the same, it made her look at him, startled.

" _What?"_

He sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "Cordy, I always knew when you snuck out. You really think you were fooling anybody? You really can't hide it now. Not from me."

"Daryl I-"

"He treat you right?"

"Huh?"

Daryl turned to face her then, blue eyes meeting brown. His jaw was set, expression stern. "Does he treat you right?"

"He treats me fine," Cordelia said finally, furrowing her brow. She had expected Daryl to be upset when he found out, had expected him to berate her for keeping secrets. She had not expected this calculated calmness. "Are you…angry at me?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "I understand."

She stared at him, eyes narrowed slightly as if she expected this whole thing to be a joke and him to turn toward her suddenly to start yelling at her and prove that he was actually pissed like she had expected him to be. She expected him to demand that she stop doing...whatever it was that she and Glenn were doing.

But he didn't. Instead, he only sighed again, tiredly, and shook his head.

"Merle doesn't know. I would keep it that way. He wouldn't like it."

"Merle doesn't like a lot of things." Cordy pointed out. She was still staring at her brother with a perplexed expression on her face.

"He _really_ wouldn't like this." Daryl's tone was insistent, leaving no room for argument.

She took a moment, sucking in a deep breath. "I guess I'm just surprised." She said finally. "I expected you to be pissed when you found out. To be honest, though….I thought I was doing an alright job at keeping it from you."

"You remember your senior year of highschool? There was that party that that blonde friend of yours was throwin' an-"

"Shelley?" Cordelia asked, raising a brow. It had been a long time since she had thought of the girl.

"Yeah, her." Daryl nodded. "Anyway I told you not to go 'cause I knew just what kind of shit that girl got up to at her parties and you threw a fit. And then that night you snuck out your window."

Cordelia knew immediately, of course, just what party Daryl was talking about. It wasn't often that he had told her not to do something when she was younger, and even more rare that she would listen, but when it came to matters like drugs or sex or booze, Daryl put his foot down. "You knew about that?" She couldn't help the surprised laugh. "You never said anything."

"Would you have listened if I had?"

"No." she answered honestly shaking her head. Stubbornness ran in the family, after all.

"You never did like us tellin' you what to do."

"Why didn't you say anything? Back then, I mean. Weren't you angry?"

"Was pissed." He admitted. "But you didn't come home drunk off your ass or high. You had better sense than that."

"Okay," Cordelia sighed. "So why aren't you mad now?"

"Because you're a grown ass woman, Cordelia." Daryl said. "Because I can't _make_ you do nothin'. Because I trust you."

He _trusted_ her. Cordelia wasn't sure why the words hit something deep inside of her heart. Perhaps because trust was not something the Dixon siblings gave out so easily, not even to each other. How could they when Merle was amongst them, screwing over everybody but himself?

"Well, thanks Dare." Cordy said, trying not to sound too emotional. "And I'll take your advice. I won't let Merle know."

* * *

Daryl had been the one to take care of Cordelia when she was young. Not Merle and certainly not their good-for-nothing Daddy.

It was like this: when Cordelia was very small their father was at the height of his alcoholism and drug addiction. He was a drunk and he could get real mean. When it came to Daryl it was one thing. Nobody _cared_ if his father took out his aggression on him. But Cordelia was different. She was small and vivacious and so innocent.

Daryl had only seen their father raise a hand to her once, when she was a little girl before he had put a stop to it, to the best of his knowledge. Daryl didn't know if his father had ever hurt Cordelia before that, nor did he know if he had after that and, if he were being perfectly honest with himself he couldn't bare the thought of asking and finding out that he had been unable to protect her.

After all, Daryl already had to wear the scars of his abuse, it didn't seem fair that Cordelia might have to as well.

Unlike him, Cordelia was lucky. Their father had died when she was still young. After that, at least, she didn't have to worry about anybody trying to hit her. Merle certainly had never tried, too caught up in the memory of their father's anger that burned like hot coals and also, perhaps too scared to face Daryl's wrath if he ever attempted it.

To his credit, Daryl had done his best when it came to Cordy. He had made sure she wore clean clothes to school each day and he had made sure that she ate three meals a day, even if it meant that at times the best he could manage for himself was sitting and _watching_ her eat. He made sure she went to bed at night and woke up on time and did her homework. He _tried_ to make sure she was _happy,_ which was more than anybody else had ever done for him.

As he had watched, Cordelia had grown from a bright-eyed little girl into a remarkably stubborn, self-sufficient young woman. She could take care of herself, really. She was _good_ at it. And she sure as hell could make her own decisions. Daryl didn't necessarily have to like them, though. But he certainly wouldn't get mad at them, unless they put her in danger.

As far as Daryl was concerned, whatever was going on between Cordelia and that kid, Glenn, was harmless for now. He would keep his nose out of it and let Cordy make her own decisions.

Merle, however, was a different story. With his loud opinions and disdain for...well, practically everything _other_ than booze, drugs, and sex, Merle would likely disagree with Cordelia's decisions very loudly and very, _very_ angrily.

Better to keep Merle in the dark about it. Better to lie to him and keep the peace than tell the truth and watch as he and Cordelia got caught up in a battle of wills.

Better to stay on Cordelia's side as usual, rather than trying to justify Merle's beliefs. Besides, in her twenty-two years, Cordelia had already proven herself to have more common sense then Merle had ever had in his whole damn life.

He watched is Cordelia crept ahead of him, moving through the brush silently, eyes set forward and bow held at the ready, arrow notched and ready to shoot.

They had decided to go hunting, something the pair hadn't got to do recently with all the runs that Cordelia was taking into the city.

They had done this quite a lot before the outbreak, disappeared into the woods for hours and sometimes days at a time. They weren't hunting for large game today, though. Instead, they were trying to find just enough for dinner. Soon though, Daryl would try going for something larger.

The sound of Cordelia firing her bow made him freeze, watching the trajectory of the arrow until it lodged itself firmly in the middle of a rabbit.

"Looks like we're having Bugs for dinner." Cordelia grinned over her shoulder at him as she sauntered over to her kill, yanking her arrow out before picking the creature up by the foot. "Rabbit's foot." She pointed out, turning to hold it out towards him. "Means we have good luck."

"Sure," Daryl scoffed. "Clearly." He reached forward, taking the rabbit and putting it into his bag with the squirrels they had gotten so far.

What Daryl really wanted was to bag a buck, drag that back to camp and have a night where he was sitting pretty, content and full. So far, though, he had been unlucky in that regard.

"We should circle around." Daryl began, catching his sister's attention, making her stop and look at him. "Don't want to leave Merle alone for too long. He'll get to wonderin' where we are."

Cordy snorted in contempt, shaking her head slightly. "He's like a damn kid we have to babysit."

They hadn't been out in the woods long, maybe just an hour or so, but they also hadn't told anybody where they were going before they left, choosing instead to venture off to hunt. Besides, Cordy had reasoned when they first set out, Dale had seen her follow Daryl into the woods. If Merle got to causing a fit, Dale would tell him where they went.

Of course, Daryl would have liked to get back in time to avoid that entirely. Cordelia was right, after all. It did feel like they had to babysit Merle. The bastard was stubborn, still going through what drugs he had left, despite both Cordelia and Daryl's misgivings. Neither of them wanted to deal with Merle as he was going through withdrawals but, just the same, having Merle high didn't help their case much either.

Not that it mattered though, really. Daryl had made his peace with being his brother's keeper a long time ago.

The two moved quietly through the trees, no words exchanged between them really, each of them too intent on looking for possible prey and listening for walkers. Besides, they had been doing this long enough, there was no need to talk.

They returned to camp some time later, stepping out of the brush to find that everyone was up now, the camp a flurry of activity.

Shane turned, dark eyes catching sight of the siblings, and he moved towards them, striding across camp purposefully.

"You leave and don't even tell anybody where you're going?" He asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, sucking in a breath, ready to snap back at the man but Cordelia stepped between them, giving Shane a clearly unimpressed look.

"We're adults, Shane." She said, crossing her arms. "Didn't realize we had to _ask permission_ to go on a damn walk."

Her tone sounded almost bored, but Daryl knew that Cordy was likely just as annoyed as Daryl over Shane reprimanding them. Without waiting for Shane to say anything else, Cordelia brushed past him, heading towards where Merle sat in front of the tent, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Daryl followed after her, dropping his bag at Merle's feet.

"Got some squirrels." He said. "A rabbit."

Merle smirked slightly, leaning back in the lawn chair he was sat in. "Good." he said. "Tired of eatin' beans and vienna sausages."

"We're tired of hearing you complain about eating beans and vienna sausages." Cordy said dryly, sliding her bow and quiver of arrows off her back and rolling her shoulders, stretching her arms over her head.

"Got some clothes that need washed, l'il sister. Best get to it."

Cordy huffed, fixing Merle with a clearly unimpressed look, arching a brow. "And what have you done today Merle? Beside sit on your ass. Wash your clothes your damn self."

Daryl could see his brother bowing himself up, getting ready to snap back at Cordy, an action that would inevitably lead to another argument between them.

Cordelia stood, eyes on Merle expectantly, arms crossed over her chest. Cordelia had mastered the look of icy indifference long ago.

"Hey Cordy," All three Dixon's turned at the sound of her name to see Glenn approaching them, dark gaze flickering between the three before finally settling on the youngest. "Shane wants to talk to us."

"Oh _boy_ ," Cordelia muttered under her breath, sliding her bow and quiver back onto her back before striding past her brothers, heading towards Glenn. "I'll let you know what he wants." She said to Daryl as she passed him, offering him a small smile. He only nodded, before moving to sit in the empty lawn chair beside Merle's.

"That girl has an attitude problem." Merle growled, blue eyes still set on Cordelia's retreating form.

"Ain't no problem." Daryl said. He reached into the bag, pulling out the rabbit that Cordy had killed.

"Man, are you kiddin' me? You heard the way she talked to me." Merle asked incredulously, turning to face him.

"Heard the way you talked to her too." Daryl pointed out matter-of-factly. "She was standin' up for herself. That's all."

Daryl admired that about his sister. He certainly had never been able to stand up for herself to Merle.

"Whatever, man. Somebody better wash those clothes. That's all I'm sayin'."

* * *

"Daryl knows. About us." Cordy began casually as they walked away, glancing at Glenn from the corner of her eye.

He blinked, turning to look at her with something akin to surprise, maybe a bit of fear, written across his face. "You told him?" He asked.

"He guessed." She corrected. "And he doesn't care." She shrugged slightly. "He knows I'm not a kid."

"He doesn't care?" Glenn frowned, looking at her with his disbelief evident on his face.

"Okay," she amended. "That's not what I meant. He's not...worried about it. He trusts me. He's not gonna like...murder you in your sleep or whatever." She shrugged, offering him an encouraging smile. "Which I know it doesn't really change anything because Merle is still a huge asshole but…"

"Merle isn't going to try to murder me in my sleep if hefinds out, right?" His tone was light, joking and it made her nudge him slightly as they walked.

"Let's not find out."

Cordelia didn't need to see Merle's reaction to know that he wouldn't be supportive of whatever was going on between her and Glenn. Hell, Merle was never supportive of anything.

"What does Shane want?" Cordy couldn't help but ask as they approached the man where he stood, talking to Andrea beside the RV.

"I don't know." Glenn admitted. "Wanted to talk to us about our run into the city tomorrow."

" _Oh boy,"_ Cordelia drawled, rolling her eyes. "Bet he wants to give us a fucking shopping list."

"Hey," Shane greeted as the two approached, crossing his arms over his chest. Cordy offered Andrea a simple nod of greeting before the woman headed off to where her sister was sitting by the fire. "Was hoping I could convince you two to take a group into the city on your run tomorrow."

" _What?"_ Glenn asked, his eyes widening a fraction.

Cordy frowned, shaking her head slightly. "That is _not_ a good idea." She said. Runs into the city were dangerous enough with it just being her and Glenn. Adding more people would just complicate things. Not that Shane would care, really. He only cared about getting the job done, not _how_ it got done.

To his credit, he was the kind of person that people in the camp needed, strong and authoritative, but Cordelia didn't like him much. The fact that he had been a cop back before the world had gone to shit might have had something to do with it, but probably it had more to do with the fact that he could be a real dick most of the time.

But yeah, being a cop _might_ have had something to do it. After all, hadn't that dislike been instilled in her for her whole goddamn life.

"Look, we need supplies." Shane said, tone impatient. "More people means more hands to carry them back."

"More people might also mean more possible mistakes. More ways to get us dead." Cordelia snapped back.

That was another thing. She and Shane had never gotten along. Cordelia was always ready to snap back at him, to call him on bullshit. She had never liked authority figures much.

"She has a point." Glenn cut in, tone far calmer than Cordelia's. More reasonable. "With just the two of us, it's easy. We get in and get out. Just like that."

"It doesn't matter, Glenn." Cordy said, narrowing her eyes slightly as she took in the stubborn set of Shane's jaw. "He's not _actually_ asking us. Right, Shane? That was just to seem...what? Nice? Friendly? What he _really_ meant is 'Fuck you, they're going whether you like it or not.'"

"Wow, Cordy, you _really_ have me all figured out, huh?" He asked, fake amusement evident in his tone.

"Nah, I just know that asshole pricks tend to act pretty similar to each other." She responded brightly. "But I am right, aren't I? We don't have a choice?"

Shane scowled, looking between the two before sighing. "Look, it's for the good of the camp."

"So yeah," Cordy said, turning to Glenn. "I was right."

Glenn shook his head slightly. "So we take this group into the city and get these supplies and...what happens if something happens. More than just two people will die."

"Whoever goes will know the risks." Shane assured him.

"And what about the risk for us?" Glenn asked.

"Right. We can't just cut and run if shit hits the fan." Cordy added, crossing her arms.

"It's been risky _every_ time you two have gone into the city." Shane pointed out, putting his hands on his hips.

" _Less_ risky." Glenn told him. "More people is more risk for everyone involved."

"What if we just decide to not go, huh? What happens then?" Cordelia narrowed her eyes at him, squaring her shoulders stubbornly.

She could not figure out a single reason why she and Glenn had not been consulted when they were discussing sending a group into the city, but this whole situation was pissing her off. She and Glenn would be risking their lives in the city while Shane was sitting pretty at Camp where it was slightly safer.

"Well…" Shane began, gaze shifting between the two of them. "I had hoped you two would be a bit more agreeable."

"And I had hoped you would be less of a dick." Cordelia snapped back.

"Everyone is at risk." Shane said, his voice finally reflecting the annoyance he felt. "And everyone has to do their part."

"Are you trying to imply that we _don't?_ " Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her anger clear in her voice and on her face. She shifted forward suddenly as if to make a move towards him, but Glenn's hand shot out, catching her around the wrist.

His grip wasn't harsh or bruising, but remained unrelenting and was enough to make her pause, her rage still bubbling bitterly under the surface but her common sense finally speaking up to tell her that whatever her intentions were for moving towards Shane like that, they were stupid.

 _She_ was being stupid.

"We'll do it." She spat out at him finally. "But if anybody dies...that's on you."

With that she turned, pulling her wrist from Glenn's grip before stomping away towards the lake, leaving the two men to stare after her for a moment until Glenn followed in her path, casting one final look of disdain in Shane's direction before he did.

She could feel the anger burning coal hot under her skin. Just where in the hell did he get off, assuming he could make this decision for them? Who the fuck had died and made him the leader? Did he expect to bark out orders and have the rest of camp scurry around like ants trying to fulfill them?

"Cordy."

He reached out, placing a hand gently on her shoulder and making her stop, turning to face him with a scowl on his face. His voice had been calm when he spoke, his gaze gentle and understanding. He had to be pissed too, Cordy knew. He wouldn't want to do this any more than she did. And yet, he stood there, the picture image of calm.

"He's an asshole." She snapped, jerking her chin in the direction they had just come from. They were out of sight now, away from any curious eyes from camp. No doubt, they would be gossiping for the rest of the night about the argument that had just taken place. It wasn't like they had anything else to talk about anyway.

"He is." Glenn agreed with a nod, lowering his hand and taking a step closer to her.

"He wasn't ever actually going to _ask_ us." She added, reaching up to push her hair out of her face.

"Probably not." He shook his head.

"How in the hell are you so calm right now?" Cordy asked, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"Well, I think you're mad enough for the both of us." Glenn said with a grin, actually making her snort lightly in laughter.

"I hate him." Cordelia said finally, the anger finally starting to ebb away, leaving frustration in it's wake. "I actually fucking hate him."

"I think he's actually doing what he thinks is right." Glenn shrugged slightly. "You can't fault him for that."

"Sure I can. If he thinks this is the right thing to do, he's a dumbass."

It was Glenn's turn to laugh at that, and Cordelia smiled softly. She liked his laugh, she realized suddenly. She liked his laugh and she quite liked his smile. She liked his dimples and the way the corners of his eyes turned up slightly.

Biting her lip slightly, Cordelia turned away. "I guess we can only hope he doesn't send anyone useless." She said, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach.

"Are you calm now?" Glenn asked. "You're not gonna like...run back there in punch him, right? There was a moment there where I thought you were going to."

"I might have." She admitted. "Probably best that I didn't."

"I think it's definitely best that you didn't."

 **Author's Note: Finally updating! I know this is a fairly uneventful chapter, but next chapter is kind of the gateway into canonical stuff. Thank you for everyone that has read and reviewed so far! Also for all the follows and favorites I've gotten. I know I'm not updating super consistently but I'm going to try to focus my attention more heavily on this story!**

 **Also if you guys are interested in seeing any of the edits of prompts I've written regarding this or any other of my stories, you can check out my tumblr blog . com!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

" _Make it look pretty, but train it to kill."_

Andrea wasn't _quite_ sure what she had expected when Shane had asked for volunteers to go into the city with Glenn and Cordelia. Andrea wasn't sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't the scowl that Cordelia kept sending in their direction, the glare that made it abundantly clear that she was unhappy with the whole situation.

They had gathered around the fire after breakfast, all of them with their backpacks and water bottles, prepared to head into the city to gather supplies.

Andrew had thought that Cordelia and Glenn would be _glad_ for the help. After all, so many extra hands meant a lot of extra supplies. It also meant more people to kill walkers. Really, it seemed like everything would be much simpler with so many people along.

When Andrea had suggested that very line of thinking to Cordelia only moments earlier, she had been certain for a moment that the younger woman was going to smack her.

Admittedly, Andrea's interaction with Cordelia had been limited. She spent a lot of her time going on runs into the city with Glenn, but when she _was_ at camp, she was usually helping her brother with hunting and keeping watch on top of the RV with Dale. Certainly, she was never _lowering_ herself to cooking meals or doing laundry. Andrea wasn't sure how she had gotten out of those particular chores but there had been moments when she had been tempted to ask.

She figured, maybe, it had something to do with the bow and quiver of arrows that seemed to be glued to her back. Andrea had not seen her shoot, but she figured that she had to be pretty good. And anyway, the one time she had asked Glenn he had only good things to say about her aim.

Maybe that's what made Andrea feel so confident about this trip into Atlanta, the fact that there was somebody like Cordelia along. It made her feel...what? Safe? Secure?

She didn't know if _safe_ was something that _anyone_ could feel anymore, but she certainly felt better about the whole thing than she would if Cordelia wasn't coming along.

Beside Cordelia, Glenn stood, casting glances between the group that had gathered together, Cordelia, and the person who she was currently staring at, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Merle sat front and center, a content grin on his face, his rifle gripped in his hand. He had announced, only minutes prior that he would be going along, resulting in what could only be described as a shouting match between him and his younger sister. It had finally been settled by Daryl and Shane but Andrea wasn't stupid. She knew that the main thing that had settled Cordelia's wildcat anger had been Glenn's hand, pressed to her shoulder.

She had turned to look at him then, hardened gaze softening. To Andrea, it was obvious that there was _something_ there, something going on between them that elicited one of the softest looks she had ever seen the younger woman give to another person.

Finally, Daryl had pulled both of his siblings aside, the three of them speaking in hushed voices while the rest could only watch, wondering what the outcome would be. Finally, Cordelia and Merle had returned to the group and Daryl had watched them for a lingering moment before turning to head back to where the Dixons had set up camp. He was going on a hunting trip, Andrea knew, a longer one in hopes of bringing back some larger game.

Maybe it was more comforting for him to know that Cordelia would be able to keep an eye on his less-than-reliable brother while he was gone.

Grudgingly, Cordelia had jerked her head towards the others, indicating that Merle should join them. He had, taking a seat between Andrea and Morales. Andrea wished that he hadn't, he smelled like sweat and cigarette smoke and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on and when he had sat down he had waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, ignoring the withering look she had given him in response.

"Okay," Cordelia sighed, pushing a hand through her hair, looking over the complete group again, tugging her lower lip between her teeth. In all, there were five of them gathered there, including Andrea and Merle. Besides them, there was Morales, T-Dog, and Jacqui all sitting there quietly waiting for Cordelia and Glenn to tell them the plan.

Andrea had not failed to notice that Shane was standing nearby, dark gaze set expectantly on Cordelia.

"Okay," Cordelia repeated. "If any of you have any doubts at all, your ass can stay here at camp." Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument and her gaze was unrelenting as she stared at them as if waiting for one of them to admit that they really _weren't_ sure.

Nobody did.

"You listen to us." She continued. "It just might end up saving all of our lives. Glenn and I know what we're doing. You guys don't. If somebody does something wrong or stupid, we could all end up dead, okay? Does everybody understand?"

She had turned her gaze to Merle again, eyes narrowed as if she were daring him to disagree. For once he kept his mouth shut, though from the look on his face he clearly wanted to say something.

"I'm driving," Glenn spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "We'll park a few blocks away and go on foot from there so we don't draw walkers to the store. When we get into the city, only a few of us will have guns."

"Right," Cordelia agreed. "We need to make sure camp still has plenty and anyway, we don't really need you guys popping shots off every time you get scared."

"So who's going to have guns then?" Andrea found herself asking, frowning slightly. She had her own gun with her constantly these days, tucked into the waist of her jeans. It had been a gift from her father and even if Andrea didn't _really_ know how to use it, it was certainly comforting to have. And if Cordelia thought she was going to take it from her she had another fucking thing coming.

The younger woman looked at her, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "You have a gun, right Andrea?" She asked.

The blonde woman nodded once, simply.

"Then you and Merle will be carrying," Cordelia said with a shrug. Her words sent a wave of unease through the group.

Was she serious? _Merle_ was going to have a gun? As impulsive and temperamental as he was? From the look Glenn gave her, he apparently wasn't completely on board with that either.

"We're leaving in fifteen minutes." Cordelia continued, turning away. She didn't spare another look at the group, nor at Shane as she walked past, heading in the direction that Daryl had gone in.

Merle stood from where he had been sitting, smirking cockily as he slung his rifle over her shoulder. "Well," he said, "Least my baby sister has enough sense to make sure I have a gun."

Glenn turned to give Merle an almost disdainful look before leaving in the direction the Cordelia had gone.

Merle turned to look at Andrea, giving her a once-over before giving her an appreciative grin.

"You know how to shoot, Blondie?"

"Fuck off," Andrea said, not bothering to answer as she strode past him in the direction of her sister.

* * *

"He shouldn't be going on this run," Cordelia said as she approached her brother, jaw set in a scowl.

Daryl looked up from where he had been crouched outside the tent, filling up his backpack with the supplies he would need for an overnight camping trip.

It was still early in the day, the morning sunlight pale and the sky the color of a robin's egg. They had a full day ahead of them and Cordelia had not anticipated that she would have to deal with her oldest brother today as well?

"He shouldn't have a gun either," Daryl commented.

"Yeah well, I think he might be the only one of them who can actually shoot."

"You can shoot." Daryl pointed out, standing and slipping his arms through the straps of the backpack.

"I have my bow," Cordelia replied.

"Look," Daryl sighed. "I'd feel a whole lot better if you were keeping an eye on Merle. I don't want him at camp alone."

"So take him with you." Cordy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I tried. He don't want to come with me. He _wants_ to go into the city."

"He _wants_ to be a pain in my ass." She groaned in frustration, reaching up to run a hand through her hair.

"He ain't a kid, Cordy. We can't be tellin' him what to do all the time."

"Then he needs to stop acting like a kid." She sighed, before stepping forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "Be careful out there."

"I have a feeling where I'm going is a lot safer than where you're going." He said, wrapping an arm around her as well. "You watch yourself. Don't let Merle be a dick. Get yourselves back here alive."

She nodded once as she stepped back, watching as he turned to go, giving her one last lingering look over his shoulder. He made the few short steps before disappearing into the brush of the forest.

He would return tomorrow, Cordelia knew, and she and her group would be back before the day was over. She wouldn't be away from him for very long and, admittedly, of everyone in camp Daryl was probably the one she had to worry about least.

Sighing heavily, Cordelia ducked into the tent that she shared with her brothers, needing to grab her bag before they left to go into the city. She needed to worry about other things, like the run today. She was certain that it was not going to go as smoothly as Shane seemed to think it would.

"I get he has a gun and knows how to shoot, but is it okay that I'm a little nervous that your brother is going to have a gun?"

The sound of Glenn's voice had her spinning to face him, eyes widening slightly in surprise. She hadn't even heard him come up behind her, nor had she heard him step into the tent, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He already had his backpack on, as well as that baseball jersey of his that Cordelia had teased him about when she first saw it but secretly found quite endearing.

"Is it okay that I'm a little nervous about it too?" She asked, before stooping down to grab her bag.

"Cordy…"

She glanced up, raising a brow questioningly.

"Where is your gun?" He asked.

She gestured towards her sleeping back, a bright pink one that looked quite out of place amongst the black ones her brothers used. "I hide it under there." She admitted, having no qualms about revealing the hiding spot to Glenn. She _trusted_ him, she realized with a start. Trusted him more than she trusted just about anyone, except Daryl of course.

She turned away again, straightening up with her backpack in hand, hearing the sound of him stepping across the tent and the rustling of her sleeping bag as he peered under it, retrieving her 9mm that was hidden there.

"Here," he said, turning to face her. "I want you to carry yours too."

She blinked, frowning slightly. "I don't need my gun. I have my bow."

"And if you're half as good of a shot with this as you are with your bow then I'd be a lot more comfortable if you were carrying too." He said, taking a few short steps until he was standing right in front of her.

"You think the others will be okay with it?" She scoffed. "They're going to ask why I have my gun _and_ my bow instead of another one of them having one."

"Because you're not a shit shot," Glenn said simply. "And you're not going to get scared and start firing randomly. Anyway, we're not going to tell them." With that he reached around her, lifting the hem of her shirt so he could slide the gun into the band of her jeans, making sure it was secure, before lowering her shirt over it again.

It was not the first time his arms had been around her and, instead of stepping back like she had expected him too, he stood there, settling his hands on her hips for a moment.

"We got this." He said, his voice soft, gentle. Cordelia was not used to anyone speaking to her like that, in a tone so soft and warm that it sent her heart aflutter.

"I know." She said, offering him a small smile.

He reached up, tucking a stray curl of dark hair behind her ear before leaning down to press his lips to hers lightly.

She kissed him back, eyes fluttering shut, warmth flooding through her veins. She liked everything about this, from his hands on her hips to his lips pressing against hers. She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating there, quick and firm beneath her palm. For just a moment, Cordelia found herself thinking that, if she could, she would stay just like this forever, with his lips pressed against hers in a way that she could only describe as intoxicating.

But then reality settled on her shoulders again and she had to pull away, eyes widening a fraction.

"Shit," she cursed. "We gotta go! What, were you trying to get a quickie in before we took off, Glenn?" She asked, her lips curling up slightly at the corner, making it obvious that she was only teasing.

Her words brought a slight blush to his face, and he immediately ducked his head, avoiding eye contact, the tips of his ears matching the color of his cheeks. "No," he said finally. "I would rather take my time."

A laugh bubbled up from her throat, and she leaned up to press a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Come on Darlin'. Let's go."

* * *

The Tahoe was a tight fit, Cordelia realized as she looked into the back, at the other members of camp who had adjusted themselves as best they could in the seats.

The Tahoe was a tight fit, sure, but she was perfectly comfortable in the front seat, where she was at liberty to roll the windows down if she wished or rest her feet on the dash or slide a cd in the cd player to fill the awkward gaps of silence. Which she had, at the beginning of the drive, sliding the _Bon Jovi_ cd that had been hiding in the glove box into the cd player.

Glenn felt the tension that hung heavy in the air too. She could tell from the way he kept glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, hands tight on the steering wheel. He had said they would be fine, but he was nervous. Just like they all were, Cordelia figured. Except for maybe Merle, who never actually got nervous over anything at all. He was being uncharacteristically quiet though, Cordy noticed. He'd hardly said a word since they had piled into the vehicle. Not that she minded really. Cordelia preferred for her brother to be quiet.

The route into the city was familiar to her now, and a quick glance out the window was enough for her to see that the next turn would bring them to their destination. From there, they would go on foot.

"Everyone remember the plan?" She asked, sitting up straighter, reaching to press 'pause' on the cd, stopping it in the middle of _'Livin' On A Prayer'_. "We stay in formation. We stay quiet. If we see any walkers, we take care of them silently. Okay."

There was a mutter of agreement from those in the car, everyone stiff and nervous despite having volunteered to come on this trip.

Glenn made the turn, pulling the Tahoe into park before exchanging a grim look with Cordelia. Back at camp, it had seemed bad enough that they would have to do this. Now that the reality of it was staring them in the face, it was even worse.

She pushed open her door quietly, stepping out and slipping her quiver of arrows onto her back from where she had settled it in the floorboard. She slid one out, notching it in her bow and holding it at the ready, brown eyes scanning the parking lot that they had parked in, ready for an onslaught of geeks. None came, and her companions continued to silently get out of the vehicle behind her.

"Come on," She said, tilting her head in the direction they were going, towards the alleyway that she and Glenn use to get into the main part of the city. She started silently across the parking lot, holding her bow aloft, ready to fire at a moment's notice. Glenn fell in behind her, leaving the others to follow.

It was a silent procession through the city, and it took far too long for Cordelia's liking. She and Glenn had plotted this course out the night before, with their knowledge of the city, and they had planned to take mostly back alleys and hopefully avoid the majority of the walkers.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the building where they were starting, a department store that looked as if it had been mostly untouched. The building was far too large to be _just_ a department store, and as best that Glenn and Cordelia could figure, it had office buildings up top.

The door in the alley leading to the building was blessedly unlocked.

They entered the building, clustering around the rear door that led to an office area, and with bated breath, each member of the group scanned the room, half expecting a horde of walkers to appear out of nowhere.

"Lock the door," Cordelia whispered over her shoulder, before beginning to creep forward, heading toward the darkened doorway that led out to the main part of the store. She heard movement from behind her and held her hand up, signaling for them to stop.

"Just me." She said softly. "If there's a bunch of geeks just outside the door I don't want you guys all behind me."

It was clear from the stubborn set of her jaw that there was no room for arguing and when nobody, spoke up she turned started forward on her path again, nerves drawn tight, ready to let her arrow fly at the slightest flicker of movement.

Merle had looked as if he was ready to argue with her and, really, she was surprised he hadn't. He had been uncharacteristically quiet on their ride into the city, and even quieter when they had been navigating the alleys. She didn't have time to talk to him about it now of course, but she had no doubt that whatever was keeping her brother so quiet would rear its head as an inevitable problem sooner rather than later.

She stepped through the doorway, into the shadows beyond, but was relieved to find the larger room looked empty. No walkers in here, it seemed, which was good for them albeit slightly unusual.

Perhaps she and Glenn were wrong. Maybe this would be an _easy_ run today.

She tilted her head, indicating that the others should follow after her as she returned the arrow to her quiver and slid her bow over her shoulder.

"Stay quiet," she said in a whisper. "Spread out and grab what we need."

Her companions moved to sort through the racks, except for Merle who lingered by her, jaw set stubbornly. "Who said you were in charge, l'il sister?" He asked. "You think everyone is just gonna listen to you?"

She rolled her eyes. This was typical Merle behavior, she was just surprised that it had taken him this long to say anything. Merle liked to pretend that he was in charge at all times, and got upset every time Daryl or Cordelia did something he didn't like.

Cordelia spent a lot of time doing things he didn't like.

"Merle," she sighed, shaking her head, patience running thin. "If you were in charge, you'd kill us all. So are you going to help us? Or do I need to put you on the roof, keeping watch."

He glared at her, nostrils flaring, before he looked over the racks of merchandise, seeming to weigh the two options.

"I don't wanna fuckin' shop," he said, before heading over to the door that was clearly marked 'stairs', rifle still slung over his shoulder.

Cordy watched him go, worrying her lower lip between her teeth, before turning to look at the others. They were all sorting through the items on the shelves diligently, doing what they had actually come to the city to do. Why was it so goddamn hard for Merle to be useful?

Shaking her head slightly, she moved forward, settling next to Glenn who was looking through a stack of men's jeans. The others were working quietly, she noticed. As long as they were here working, they wouldn't _really_ miss Glenn or Cordelia.

"Let's go scout around, see if there's anywhere else worth checking out." She suggested, tilting her head back towards the door through which they had come.

He furrowed his brow, looking at her for a moment before nodding. "You have your walkie, right? We'll be back," he told T-Dog who was standing nearest them.

He looked up, eyes shifting between Glenn and Cordelia before he grinned slyly, offering Glenn a wink. "Sure," he said. "Take your time?"

Cordy rolled her eyes as T waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Glenn who's face had taken on a light pink hue.

He turned away from his friend, falling into step behind Cordelia who moved rapidly to the door, pulling it open and slipping back out into the harsh Georgia sun. The department store had been quiet and dark and musty, but out here everything hit her full force again.

"Everything okay?" Glenn asked, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "My brother is a dick. And we shouldn't have been forced to bring everyone on this trip. I just...I hate this whole situation."

He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him, his expression calm and understanding. "It sucks," he said. "I know. Let's just get through it and get back to camp and this whole thing will be behind us."

"If we make it back to camp." She muttered, shaking her head before turning away from him, gesturing down the alley. "Come on.

Typically, Cordelia wasn't a pessimistic person, she left that to her brother, who tended to look at the very worst in every situation. Daryl had always been like that for as long as Cordelia could remember, though she suspected it had a lot to do with the way he had grown up.

While Cordelia had never exactly been the optimistic type, she had always been more of a realist. She took situations as they came and dealt with them. Even if they sucked, she never typically _looked_ for reasons to make it suck more.

Glenn remained quiet as he fell into step behind her, mirroring her movements as she crept quietly through the back alleys of Atlanta. Probably, he could sense that nothing he could say would really help get her out of her bad mood.

Cordelia turned down one of the alleys, wanting to take a look at the line of stores that were lining the main street. She froze immediately at the sound of hooves beating against the asphalt.

"What the-"

A horse flashed by, at the far entrance to the alley, a man in a cowboy hat riding it. The walkers were closing in behind them.

She turned, exchanging a look with Glenn before tilting her head to the fire escape on their right. She moved towards it, starting to climb quickly with Glenn right behind her. She wanted to get to a vantage point that was high enough to see what was going on with the cowboy, and she imagined Glenn wanted the same thing.

The reached the landing of the fire escape before turning to peer out at the main street. Every visible walker was in a frenzy, trying to get at the man and his horse.

As the watched, the horse went down, the man sprawling out across asphalt. Cordelia grimaced as the walkers tore into the horse, most of them preferring the larger meal. Yet some still went after the man who hurriedly scooted himself under the nearby tank.

"He's dead," Cordelia muttered. "He's fucking dead."

A half a second later, five subsequent shots rang out, echoing through the streets of Atlanta and inevitably riling up every walker who heard it.

A moment later, a static-y voice came through the walkie-talkie clipped to Glenn's belt.

"The hell was that?" T-Dog asked. The worry was evident in his voice.

Glenn unclipped his walkie, raising it to speak. "Some asshole got himself trapped in a tank."

"Got us trapped too." Cordelia snapped. "Those shots will draw every walker for _miles._ "

Glenn sighed, closing his eyes, undoubtedly going through every possible way out of the city. It had been quiet on their way in, the walkers unaware of the potential meal that their group would have served as. Now, the walkers would be _looking_ for a meal. And they would all be bunched up together, all of them drawn to the same place.

Walkers were fine when you only had to deal with a few, but in a big group was when they were at their most deadly.

"You're going to try to help him aren't you?" She asked, giving Glenn a long look. She knew the answer even without asking, and the lack of response on his part was the only confirmation she needed.

"Yeah," she sighed. "That's what I thought. We're gonna play heroes."

"We?" He asked, looking at her in surprise.

"You think I'm letting you do it alone?" She asked, raising a brow.

Glenn smiled slightly, before raising his walkie and fiddling with the channel setting, searching for the right channel to connect with the tank. For the most part, all they heard was white noise until finally, they didn't.

Exchanging a look with Cordy, Glenn pressed the button before raising the walkie to his mouth.

"Hey you," he said. "Dumb ass," Cordelia smirked slightly at that.

"Hey, you in the tank. Cozy in there?"

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Um...so guess who is finally updating this hahaha. Months and months later. Still, better late than never, right guys? I don't have much to say in this A/N, except that we're finally entering into canon events and so maybe chapters will come easier now? I have a lot planned and I'm really excited to write it all. Anyway, let me know what you think guys! Hope you enjoy!**


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